Arbra
Arbra was a densely forested planet that became the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance after the evacuation of Echo Base and Home Base One, around 6 ABY. Home to the lagomorphic Hoojibs, Arbra was once inhabited by an ancient race who had resided in subterranean cities. As a safe haven in a desperate hour for the Rebellion, Arbra earned the nickname "Salvation." They launched many missions against the Empire from the world during their stay. The location of Arbra was kept top-secret, and the Rebel base on its surface was heavily secured. Description Occupying the second orbit in its system, Arbra had one moon. Unlike most planets, it was not a spherical world. The world was located in the Outer Rim Territories, approximately midway between Omwat and Naboo. From the air, Arbra looked like any other undeveloped forest world, covered mostly with trees—some up to a mile in height—with the occasional mountain jutting up and lakes and small seas filling what space was left. There was no trace of technology on the world's surface, causing many observers to assume it lacked intelligent life. Despite the tranquil appearance of the surface, hidden deep within a huge cavern was a vast array of geothermal power rods that drew energy from the planet's core. The geothermal energy was then transformed into electricity and released into the atmosphere as high-altitude lightning, thus regulating the planet's stability. It was also the primary food source for the native Hoojibs, a species that consumed energy directly. Luke Skywalker believed the energy stemmed from the the Force, somehow balancing out the dark side energy well in the ancient Arbran city lying underneath the cavern. Despite being rich in resources, Arbra remained a relatively unknown world until the Rebels arrived. The Rebels found this mysterious, and had no satisfactory explanation for it. History Early history In the pre-Republic era, during the time of Xim the Despot, Arbra had hosted a more advanced race, the Arbrans. They dwelt in a large city deep within the lowest levels of the crystalline cavern that would house the future Rebel base. Their language bore some similarity to that of the Sith, suggesting a connection between the two species. The Arbrans discovered a way to remove their base emotions—anger, fear, hatred—from themselves, in the process creating a corporeal being that embodied all the negative emotions, known as the Darker. It would have been possible to destroy the creature, but as it was in some ways a part of themselves, they decided to let it live, locking it behind a force screen that prevented the passage of anything exhibiting negative feelings. At some point the Arbrans then migrated offworld, leaving their city and the Darker locked behind the screen. The Hoojibs knew that there was a darkness in those caverns, but did not know its nature and learned to avoid it. Around 3 ABY, a Yuuzhan Vong creation known as the slivilith, which had been drifting through space for millennia, was caught by Arbra's gravity. It detected the warmth the planet's unique crystals generated and took up residence in the crystal cave. Unfortunately for the Hoojibs, this was their main food source, as they consumed the crystals' energy directly. Driven out of the cave, they were forced to forage for other power sources. Rebel discovery Following their loss at the Battle of Hoth, the Rebel Alliance was in desperate need of a new permanent base of operations, hidden from the Empire. It was during this time that Stargazer's Commandos under the command of Princess Leia Organa discovered Arbra. Preliminary reports on the world were promising—there was no dangerous wildlife, and the planet's native species, were non-threatening and assumed to not be very intelligent—and so the Rebel fleet set course for the planet. While the fleet waited in orbit, a survey mission was led by Leia Organa, Rhyley Stargazer and Luke Skywalker who traveled to the surface to gather more information and determine any possible dangers. At first, the planet seemed paradisaical, and the Rebel scouting team nicknamed it Salvation. Initial contact with the Hoojibs seemed to support the reports on them. In order to keep the bulk of the Rebel forces from being caught unawares, the fleet moved away from the planet while the ground teams carried out their mission, setting a course along the ecliptic and looking to return in the next few days. On the first night, however, The unit lead by Stargazer awoke to find that Hoojibs were swarming over their machinery and cyborg Raedan Kitani. When the remaining Rebels awoke, the Hoojibs scattered, but Meevi Tracyn apprehended one. With so little of their equipment working, the group would have to get back to their landed ship quickly, due to the dwindling energy reserves of Raedan and the lack of power to the Bacta Pod that was protecting Kaje-James Reilloc's arm. Able to restore some power to the pod, the group attached a comm device to Raedan and tried to contact the gunship, Bulkyare, however no one received the message. Fortunately the Jedi female Cayla Dunestrider arrived and was carrying a working comm device, which she handed to Kileo Dimoh, who managed to contact the ship and get Bai'yle Norssohn to pilot the vessel towards them. Whilst Readan was moved to the ship by Meevi and Exao Gunn, Cayla would remain and telepathically talk with the Hoojib. The Hoojib responded that it was sorry for feeding on the group, and promised never to do it again. The female freed the small creature and returned to the ship. Meanwhile a team lead by Leia Organa also encountered the same difficulties. Awaking to find a group of Hoojibs swarming over their equipment and droid C-3PO. Fortunately the Wookiee Chewbacca would manage to capture one of the small creatures. He was surprised to find it speaking telepathically to him, and it identified itself as Plif, the Hoojib spokesmind. Plif explained to the Rebels their nature as energy-consumers and the crisis with the slivilith, which had forced them to feed on the Rebels' power supplies. All but two of the Rebels' blasters were now non-functional, and with their radio drained of power they could not contact the fleet to be rescued,and so they joined forces with the Hoojibs to defeat the slivilith. After a heated battle, the creature was killed by Chewbacca. When they saw the slivilith's cave and its power rods, the Rebels realized how advantageous relocating to Arbra could be. However, the Hoojibs were not willing to give up their home, and fighting threatened to break out between the two groups. Leia broke the standoff, promising that, as it was the Hoojibs' world, the Alliance would leave them be. However, Plif relented, offering to share their territory with the Rebels. When the fleet returned to orbit, they began the process of moving into their new base on Arbra. Foot Note This Planet is used within a RESOLUTION Plots and is so part of the RSNverse of Star Wars lore. In the RSNverse, the Planets history may run a different course to that of canon or the EU. Category:Planets